CHARLOTTE CUT SEED BEADS
Description: Rocaille with round facet. Charlotte cut seed beads are the Cadillac of seed beads, the one cut facet making them sparkle and shimmer.
According to Peter Francis, Jr. charlotte cuts were first used in 1847 in France for the garment trade. Although Peter doesn't know the origins of the name, in a recent letter to Bead and Button magazine by Elliot Greene of New York, Elliot states the name was attributed to his daughter. Elliot Green is an importer of Czech glass beads, and one of only a small handful of importers of charlotte cut seed beads.
Although seed beads have been made for centuries in Venice, Italy, Lyon, France and Gablonz, Bohemia; according to Peter Francis, Jr., the beads were made in Venice and Lyon, then sent to Bohemia for faceting. There might not be any way to verify this fact now, as Peter died in 2003. Seed beads are no longer made in Italy, and the last bead factory that produced seed beads in France closed in 2004. The only European seed bead manufacturer now in existence is in the Czech Republic. The factory is in Ornela, located outside of Jablonec nad Nisou, where most of the Czech glass bead industry is located. Ornela is the world's largest seed bead factory, and makes all the Czech charlotte cut seed beads that are available today. Having said that, charlottes are almost impossible to get, and most bead stores are always in short supply as are the few importers who carry them. Why this is the case is a mystery, because charlottes are very popular.
Charlottes were originally only made in size 13/0, but then 11/0 were made and now charlottes are available in 15/0, 8/0 and 6/0.
Because technically only 13/0 are charlottes, all the rest, (11/0, 15/0, 8/0 and 6/0) are called one cuts or true cuts. But if you are not a purist then charlottes are really what they are called.
